Founding year: the first Wakeman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Wakeman’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wakeman is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wakeman’s overall grade.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Wakeman’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Wakeman’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
According to Underground Railroad historian Wilbur H. Siebert, "Leverett B. Hill, of Wakeman, Ohio, assisted 103 [freedom seekers] on their way to Canada during the year 1852."
Rev. Dr. Charles C. Creegan was born in Ohio and was ordained in 1874. He was pastor of a congregational church in Wakeman, Ohio for five years. He went on to do missionary work and served as president of Fargo College.
A type of sandstone identified as Wakeman Buff or spider web sandstone was once quarried in Wakeman. A quarry operated by the Cleveland Stone Company in northern Wakeman between 1877 and circa late 1910s or early 1920s was also known for quarrying Berea Sandstone.
Passages that mention Wakeman, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Huron County Ohio Its Progress and Development1909 · page 292Read the page →
Read the text
Merritt H. Hyde was reared on his father's farm and obtained his education in the public schools of Wakeman. Аз stated above, he has always continued to reside on the place where he was born and throughout his entire business career he has devoted his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits, his farm comprising ninety-two acres of rich and arable land adjoining the village of Wakeman. In 1895 he bought a steam threshing outfit and every season since then has been extensively engaged in threshing, his operations covering Wakeman, Townsend, Clarksfield and other nearby townships. He has threshed in a
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Huron County Ohio Its Progress and Development1909 · page 318Read the page →
Read the text
Ohio and Michigan. In 1870 he began the publication of the Literary Pearl, а monthly paper in which were produced the writings of his two sisters, Elvira, who was a teacher, and Lura Ann, a missionary worker. This was continued until 1875 when he was induced by the merchants of Wakeman to remove to this town and establish a paper as the town was then without one and the merchants wished an advertising medium. Accordingly in August, 1875, he came to Wakeman and established the office and on the roth of September, 1875, brought forth the first issue of the Wakeman Independent Press, which has
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
He obtained his preliminary education in the public schools of Wakeman and afterward attended Oberlin University for several terms. During the winter of 1860-61, he taught school in Wakeman township and in September, 1861, enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of Company H, Forty-first Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In 1862, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and transferred to Company B of the same regiment, commanding the company for two years. The regiment was attached to the Army of the Cumberland and saw much arduous service, participating in many hotly contested engage-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Wakeman’s history
What year was Wakeman founded?
The Wakeman post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Wakeman rank for history?
Wakeman is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Wakeman?
34% of Wakeman’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.8 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1965.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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